February 25, 2009 - Dr. Gunilla Bolinder, Chief Physician, Director of Studies and Education, Karolinska University Hospital, Stockholm points out, "To sing the praises of SNUS is a deathblow to over 20 years of hard tobacco preventive work. SNUS only saves the life of the tobacco industry" (SNUS gets the thumbs-down NEWS-24 1/31/2007).

Except for Sweden, snus is outlawed by the European Union (EU) (in May, 1992) mainly because it was believed it would be used above all by young people, and that oral tobacco contained particularly large quantities of carcinogenic substances even snus. (The use of snus is part of the Swedish heritage - its use dates back over 200 years.)

Not enough is known about smokeless tobacco. As pointed out by Marita Broadstock in her systematic review (Systematic Review of the health effects of modified smokeless tobacco products, NZHTA Report, February 2007, Volume 10 Number 1), the number of studies on smokeless tobacco is relatively slight compared to the wealth of literature published relating to smoking.) More and more studies are surfacing about the dangers of smokeless tobacco.

Selection of supporting news briefs from the archive..

1st image placement of a snus packet and the 2nd an oral lesion induced by sucking on snus bags.

The levels of one of the carcinogens in snus, namely nitrosamines, may be lower than in most U.S. brands but the levels are at least 100 times greater than the nitrosamine levels permitted by the United States Department of Agriculture in any non-tobacco product on the U.S. market. (Communication with Dr. Stephen S. Hecht, an internationally recognized expert on cancer-causing agents in tobacco.)

From the article in The Local (Sweden's news in English) - the availability of snus in Norway, a non-EU country, had NOT led to any measurable drop in the prevalence of smoking. Those that use snus in Norway are young adults and kids that tobacco companies have convinced to give it a try. According to Dr. Karl E. Lund, research director at the Norwegian Institute for Alcohol and Drug Research over the past decade, daily use of snus has tripled among teens and young adults. Swedish Match, makes what Dr. Lund calls "starter kits." "This is snus sold in glamorous metal boxes in which the snus is seasoned with different kinds of fruit flavors," he explains. "[They are] easy to use for snus novices." (NCI Cancer Bulletin, Feb 20, 2007 vol 4 number 8)